Water bubbler assembly



United States t [1 11 3,545,477

[72] Inventor Allen C- Wl'lghl l,l49,892 8/l9l5 Blattner 25l/284X Moraga,Callfomla l,746,603 2/1930 Paradis..... 25l/323X [2]] Appl. No. 780,839 2,803,032 8/1957 Barnsley... 287/53(H)UX [22] Filed Dec. 3, 1968 3,033,466 5/1962 Sorensen... 25l/323X [45] P n 1970 3,478,625 11/1969 Crosthwait, Jr. l37/327X [73] Asslgnee gzs z g i fi mlf Company Primary Examiner- William F. ODea.

c 3; team. i8 Assistant Examiner-David R. Matthews a n Attorney-Gardner& Zimmerman [54] WATER BUBBLER ASSEMBLY 10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] Cl. 137/327, ABSTRACT: A valve-controlled water bubbler assembly 5 74/553, 35/313 251/284 251/320 characterized by being substantially tamper-proof. The bubl l -F16k43/00, bler assembly includes a housing equipped with a nozzle F16) 21/00 through which water is discharged for drinking; and the housl Field ofseal'chflw' Y 137/315 ing has a supply passage communicating with the nozzle and 327; 25l/24. 318-323; 74/548, 5 provided therealong with a normally closed valve controlled 287/53(H)(Spllt Ring Dlgesnissls-si 29/426 by a pushbutton mounted upon the housing adjacent one end 56 R f Ct d thereof. The pushbutton totally conceals the valve and the cerences mechanism by which the pushbutton is confined upon the UNITED STATES PATENTS housing, and it can be removed from the housing only by spe- 688,705 l2/l90l Shainwald, .lr. 251/322X cial means known to skilled rcpairmen.

a ii fun! lb -Tw n 1 -41 3 g "I! an /5 5 t'ur es and details of the invention, will sembly.

. 11 WATER BUBBLER ASSEMBLY This invention relates to a water bubbler assembly and, more particular y, a' valve-controlled water bubblerassembly that is substantially tamper-proof and,'therefore, especially suited for use in locations generally available tothe. public. 9

I y 3,545,477 a equipped at its outer end witha nozzle 17 through which present invention, the described components of the assembly may be essentially conventional since per se they form no, part Machines, mechanisms and other devices located in rooms and areas open to the 'generalpublic are subjectto damage, both intentional andunint'entional, from vandalism and misuse especially when children constitute a' segment of the public-to which such devices are available- Although inten-i tional destruction of o a device is difficult to prevent, the

likelihood'of damage thereto can be considerably minimized by making the same as tamper-proof as possible so that misuse, disassembly, and availability of the working parts are all minimized; Anobject of the present invention is to provide an improved water bubbler assembly in which these damageminimizing features are present. i 7

A further object, among others, is to provide an improved valve-controlled water bubbler assembly that is substantially tamper-proof withthe valveand substantially all of the other nonstatic components and elements thereof being concealed andtherefore generally inaccessible and unavailable except to authorized personnel; that is substantially tamper-proof the valve and. substantially all of the other nonstaticcornponents and elements thereof being concealed and therefore generally inaccessible and unavailable except to authorized personnel; that is easy to assemble and disassemble by such authorized personnel; that is structurally simple; and that includes a reciprocable pushbutton for controlling the discharge of water, and which pushbuttonis retained upon a housing by mechanism entirely concealed within a depending skirt forming a part of thepushbutton and making the mechanism inaccessible except to personnel'apprised of the manner inwhich the pushbutton is sci-retained upon the housing and the manner of effecting release thereof by means concealed within'the hollow interior of the pushbutton. Additional objects and advantages, especially as concerns particular feabecome apparent as the specification proceeds.

water is discharged. "The particularassembly illustrated is equipped with a guard or shield 18 adjacent the nozzle 17 which tends to prevent contact between a person drinking from the assembly and the nozzle 17 thereof. As respects the ofsuchinvention.

The housing 14 issomewhat frustoconical in configuration and taper upwardly and'inwardly toward a generally cylindrical upper end portion 19 within which is mounted a valve mechanism 20 that is'also conventional and is a normally I closed valve operative to control the flow of waterthrough the ,supply passage 13 and into the passage 16, The valve mechanism 20 isa conventional cartridge valve and is biased toward the closed position thereof by a spring force derived for the most part from a'helical spring 21 circumjacent the upwardly extending actuator 22 of the valve. Downward displacement of the actuator 22 against the biasing force of the spring 21 opens the valve 20 to permit. water to flow from the supply passage 13 into the passage 16 for discharge through the nozzle 17. a a t Mounted upon the upper end 19 of the housing 14 is a hollow pushbutton 23 having a top wall 24and sa skirt 25 depending therefrom. The skirt 25 is a substantially continuous perimetric component of cylindrical. configuration coaxially circumjacent the generally cylindrical upper end 19 of, the

housing 14. The pushbutton 23 is'arranged with the valve 20 forthe purpose of manipulating the same, and in this respect, it is provided along the inner undersurface of the top wall 24 with an annular collar 27 that seats the upper end ofthe actuator 22 therein. The pushbutton is axially displaceable relative to the housing14 and upper end 19 thereof; and downward displacement of the pushbutton is effected to open the valve 20, thereby permitting water to discharge from the nozzle 17. Whenever the pushbutton is released, it is returned to the upper position thereof illustrated in the drawing owing to the biasing force of the spring 21. r

The pushbutton 23 is retained upon the housing :14 by mechanism ordinarily preventing separation thereof, and such An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawingfin which;

FIG.\1 is a perspective view ofa water bubbler assembly em-- bodying the invention, the assembly being mounted upon a sink or bowl and portions of the'pushbuttonvalve-actuator.

thereof being shown in section;

FIG. 2 is a brokenvertical sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

conventional to a considerable extent, and it is shown in a typical position of use mounted upon the flange orleclge 10 of a basin-type receptacle generally denoted with the numeral l1. Ordinarily, such mounting of the bubbler assembly (which in I its entirety is designated with the. numeral 12) is effected by having a portion thereof extend downwardly through an openingprovided therefor in the flange 10, and it is secured to the flange by nuts that threadedly engage such downwardly extending portion. Evidently, watermust be supplied to the assembly12 from a suitable source (not shown) through a supply line arranged with such downwardly extending portion of the assembly. Such supply line communicates with a supply passage 13 (FIG. '2) extending upwardly'through the interior of a vertically disposed housing 14 forming a part of he as Formed integrally with the housing 14 is a generally L shaped conduit 15 having a' flow passage 16 thereth'rough jEyidently, if the spring abutment element 28 is to be removed a .50 FIG. 3 is a broken vertical sectional view similar to that of mechanism takes the form of abutment elements '27 and 28 respectively carried by the housing 14 and pushbutton 23 within the confines of the skirt 25 so as to be completely concealed thereby. The abutment elements 27 and 28 have oppositely facing abutment surfaces engageable with each other (as shown in FIG. 2 and 3) to limit movement of the pushbutton 23 in the oneaxial direction (upwardly as viewed in the drawings) relative to the housing 14 that tends to separate the pushbutton therefrom. In the particular-form shown, the abutment element 2.7 is-a substantially continuous annular flange extending laterally outwardly from the main surface of the upper end portion 19 of the housing; 7

The abutment element 28 is an annular spring of generally circular configuration that is discontinuous and defines, a gap 29 between the adjacent ends thereof. The normal unstressed diameter of thespring abutment element 28 is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the skirt 25,, and it resiliently seats within a annular channel 30 provided along the inner surface p, of the skirt. The spring abutment element 28 is in the form of a' wire; and when seated within the channel 30 (as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 in particular), sufficient clearance is afio'rded between the inner edge of the abutment 28 and outer surface of thehousing end portion 19 so as to enable thepushbutton i 23 to be displaced axially relative to the housing 14 without frictional inhibition occurring through contact of the abutment 28 with the housing 14. t t

3 Further in thisrespect,it may be necessary on occasion to remove the pushbutton 23.for the purpose of repairing or replacing the valve assembly 20.8 1 1 such separation of the pushbutton from the housing 14 is accomplished by removing j the spring abutment element 28 from the channel 30, whereupon the pushbutton is freely removable from the housing.

from the channel 30, it is necessary that sufficient clearance by provided between the abutment element and underlying surface of the housing 14 to permit the abutment element 28 to be compressed inwardly against the inherent biasing force thereof and thereby withdraw the spring from the channel. The gap or space 29 formed between the adjacent end portions of the spring; and in this same reference, it may be noted that the end 31 of the spring abutment is turned inwardly and seats within an opening 32 provided in the upper end portion 19 of the housing 14, and which opening is in the form of an axially elongated slot (as shown best in FIGS. 2 and The slight curvature along the mergence of the inwardly tumed' end portion 31 of the spring abutment element and circular portion thereof 'is useful in removing the abutment element from the channel 30,.as will be described in greater detail subsequently.

. The housing along the upper end portion 19 thereof is equipped with an additional outwardly extending annular flange 33 defining a bearing having approximatelythe same outer diameter as the inner diameter of the skirt 25, and it lies essentially therebeneath so as to be substantially concealed thereby. It will be apparent that the annular abutment element 27 and the annular bearing 33 cooperate with the inner surface of the depending skirt 25 to stabilize thepushbutton 23 and constrained the same against wobbling or canting which would be disturbing during movement of the pushbutton and might interefere withfree displacement thereof.

The slot or opening 32 extends downwardly from the upper end of the housing 14 to a position intermediate the top and bottom shoulders of the annular bearing 33.'The pushbutton 23 along the inner surface of the skirt 25 thereof has an axially disposed recess 34 extending upwardly from the lower edge thereof to a location slightly above the channel 30, (see FlG.' 5). The recess 34 is dimensioned to snugly receive therein the inner upwardly turned end or leg 35 of a somewhat U-shaped tool 36 the outer leg of which extends along the outer surface of the flange or skirt 25. The tool- 36 at its upper end may be turned laterally to provide a handle useful in manipulating 'thetooh- -In order to assemble the pushbutton 23 and housing 14 (which assembly is effected afler the valve has been mounted in the upper end portion 19 of the housing 14), the spring wire defining the abutment element 28 is spread to enlarge the inner diameter thereof sufficiently to slip the same over the abutment element 27 and move it downwardly therealong into .the space defined between the abutment element 27 and bearing 33.'Evidently, it will most convenient in moving the spring abutment element downwardly to have the inwardly turned end portion 31 thereof alined with and located within the slot 32. Releasing the spreading force on the spring abutment element 28 enables the inherent biasing force'thereof the return it to its normal diameter whereupon it is then confined by the abutment element 28 and bearing 33 within the space therebetween.

Next, the pushbutton 23 is aligned with the-housing 14 and moved downwardly therealong until the lower end of the skirt passes beyond the abutment element 27. The spring abutment element 28 is then compressed, which can be done manually without the use of tools, sufficiently to insert itinto the flange 25, and the housing 14 is provided with an annular recess 37 just below the .abutrnent element 27 (as shown best in FIG. 5) to facilitate such compression. The pushbutton is then further displaced downwardly; and assuming the situation in which thespring abutment element 28 is not seated within the channel 30, such downward movement will bring the abutment element into engagement with the upper edge of the bearing 33 whereupon its downward movement is terminated and any continued downward movement of the pushbutton 23 ordinarily seats the abutment element 28 within the channel 30. in the event of the abutment element 28 being canted or disposed so that all or a portion thereof lies above the channel 30, seating of the abutment element 28 within the channel will be effected upon upward displacement of pushbutton 23 following such downward displacement thereof.

The pushbutton 23 is thereafter constrained upon the upper end of the housing 14 and is biased into the upper most position shown in- FIGS. 1, 2 and. 3 by the spring force normally maintaining-the valve 20 in the closed position thereof, and which force for the most part isderived from the helical spring 21. In order to open the valve to permit water to discharge from the nozzle 17, the pushbutton 23 is pressed downwardly the extent of which downward movement determines the degree to which the valve is opened. It will be apparent that the maximum upward and downward movements of the pushbutton are respectively defined by engagement of the spring 28 with the abutment 27 and of the spring 28 with the bearing The upper abutment element 27 and the bearing 33 guide vertical reciprocations of the pushbutton 23 and constrain the same against wobble. Also, the coaction of the abutment elements 27 and 28 fixedly maintain the pushbutton upon the upper end portion of the housing 14 and prevent separation thereof. It may be observed that the pushbutton 23 can be rotated relative to the housing 14 and spring abutment element 28, the latter of which is constrained against rotation because of the inwardly turned end 31 thereof being confined within the slot 32. Such permissible angular movement of the pushbutton 23 is not uninhibited because it is frictionally rethe channel 30 and bears against the pushbutton, angular displacements of the abutment element being prevented as a consequence of the end portion 31 thereof being confined within the housing slot 32.

The abutment element 27, spring abutment element 28, bearing 33, channel 30 and slot 32 are all completely concealed within the space defined within the depending skirt 25 of the pushbutton 23 so that none of these elements can be observed from the outside irrespective of whether the pushbutton is in the upper position shown or is in its'depressed' position in which the valve 20 is open. Thus, it is not apparent from the outside to those ordinarily using the bubbler how the pushbutton 23 is retained in position upon the housing 14, and

3 since the valve 20 is completely enclosed and concealed by the pushbutton and housing, there is no way that the function+ ing thereof can be disturbed by ordinary users of the bubbler. Moreover, there is little that the user can do to damage the bubbler assembly by interfering with operation thereof because the bearing 33 serves as a. barrier preventing ingress into the space within the skirt 25 and substantially preventing insertion of objects thereinto. Further in this respect, the pushbutton 23 cannot be removed without disestablishing the movement-limiting engagement of the abutment elements 27 and 28 and which disestablishment is practicably accomplished by releasing the spring abutment element 28 from the pushbutton 23 or, more particularly, from the channel 30 thereof.

In order to remove the pushbutton the tool 36 is placed in a position in which the inner leg 35 thereof is alined with the recess 34 provided along the inner surface of the skirt 25, and the tool is then displaced upwardly relative to the skirt,

thereby causing such inner leg 35 to slide along the recess 34..

Unless the recess happens to be alined with the gap 29 defined between the ends of the spring abutment element 28, such upward displacement of the tool is terminated by engagement of the upper endof the leg 35 with the spring abutment element 28. If such engagement occurs, the pushbutton 23 together with the tool 36 (the inner leg 35 of which is then positioned within the recess 34) are displaced angularly until the leg 35 exceeds the elevation of the spring abutment element 28.

Thereafter, the pushbutton 23 and tool 36 are rotated or displaced angularly relative to the housing 14 in a clockwise direction (as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 4), which causes the inner the spring abutment element 28 with the cylindrical portion abutment element 28 is pushed inwardly thereby so as to be displaced from the channel 30. Evidently, the recess 37 provides space for receipt of the spring abutment element therein during such inward displacement thereof when the pushbutton 23 is in its uppermost position.

Continued angular displacement of the pushbutton 23 in th same direction progressively displaces, greater and greater lengths of the spring abutment element 28 from the channel 30 which has the effect of tending to elongate the spring slightly or to shorten the length of the gap 29, all as illustrated in FIG. 4. Such angular displacement of the pushbutton is continued until the spring abutment element 28 is substantially completely removed from the channel 30, whereupon an upward force applied to the pushbutton separates it from the abutment element 28 and from the upper end of the housing 14. The pushbutton can be replaced in the manner heretofore described.

Evidently, it is practicably impossible to remove the pushbutton 23 from the housing 14 without the special tool 36 being available for this purpose and without it being used in the manner described. Accordingly, unauthorized persons cannot remove the pushbutton, whereupon the working parts of the bubbler assembly (namely, the pushbutton 23, valve 20, and associated components) areeffectively tamper-proof.

While in the foregoing specification an embodiment of the invention has been set forth in considerable detail for purposes of making a complete disclosure thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous changes may be made in such details without departing from the spirit and principles of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a water bubbler assembly or the like: a housing having a supply passage therealong provided with a normally closed valve controlling the flow of water therethrough; a hollow pushbutton having a transverse top wall and a skirt depending axially therefrom in circumjacent relation with an end portion of said housing and being axially displaceable thereto relative and operative upon displacement thereof in one axial direction to open said valve; and mechanism for retaining said pushbutton upon such end portion of said housing including a pair of abutment elements respectively carried by said housing and pushbutton within the confines of said skirt and having oppositely facing transversely extending abutment surfaces engageable with each other to limit relative movement between said pushbutton and housing in the axial direction tending to cause separation therebetween, and means is substantially continuous in its circumjacency with said housing and is provided alongits inner surface with an annular channel extending thereabout, said spring being annular and seated within said channel so as to be carried by 'said pushbutton and said structure for releasing said spring being effective to remove the same from said channel.

4. The water bubbler assembly of claim 3 in which said annular spring is discontinuous and has an inwardly turned end portion engageable with said housing to prevent relative angular displacements therebetween, said pushbutton being provided with an axially extending recess along the inner surface of said skirt traversing said channel so as to enable a tool to be inserted upwardly along said recess into the interior of said skirt whenever the recess is alined with the discontinuity in saidspring, whereupon annular displacement of said pushbutton in one direction relative to said housing causes such tool to displace said spring from said channel with the results that said pushbutton can then be separated from said housing.

5. The water bubbler assembly of claim 1 in which said valve is spring biased toward the closed position thereof, and in which said pushbutton engages a portion of said valve and is effective to open the same against such spring bias upon axial displacement of said pushbutton in the aforesaid one axial direction.

6. The water bubbler assembly of claim 1 in which the abutment element carried by said housing is an outwardly extending annular flange, and in which said housing is equipped with an outwardly extending annular bearing axially spaced from said annular abutment element and located within the concealing confines of said skirt.

7. The water bubbler assembly of claim 1 in which said valve is springbiased toward the closed position thereof, in which said pushbutton engages a portion of said valve and is effective to open the same against such spring bias upon axial displacement of said pushbutton in the aforesaid one axial direction, and in which the abutment element carried by said housing is an outwardly extending annular flange.

8. The water bubbler assembly of claim 7 in which one of said abutment elements is' a spring, in which said. means for disestablishing such movement-limiting engagement of said abutment elements includes structure for releasing said spring from the component carrying the same, and in which said skirt is substantially continuous in its circumjacency with said housing and is provided along its inner surface with an annular channel extending thereabout, said spring being annular and seated within said channel so as to be carried by said pushbutton, and said structure for releasing said spring being effective to remove thesame' from said channel.

9. The water bubbler assembly of claim 8 in which said annular spring is discontinuous and has an inwardly turned end portion engageable with said housing to prevent relative angular displacements therebetween, said pushbutton being provided with an axially extending recess along the inner surface of said skirt traversing said channel so as to enable a tool to be inserted upwardly along said recess into the interior of said skirt whenever the recess is alined with the discontinuity in said spring, whereupon angular displacement of said pushbutton in one direction relative to said housing causes'such tool to displace said spring from said channel with the result that said pushbutton can then be separated from said housing.

10. The water bubbler assembly of claim 9 in which said housing is equipped with an outwardly extending annular bearing axially spaced from said annular abutment element and located within the concealing confines of said skirt. 

